| Summary: | Haptic devices allow users to interact with a certain environment through
the sense of touch. This environment is usually either a virtual scene or a
somehow remote environment. In one sentence, a haptic device is a mechatronic
system that allows a bidirectional human-machine interaction and in which a
tactile restoration is provided. Haptic technology is still in its early stages of
development, according to the vast amount of possibilities that it offers or may
offer in the future. Possible applications of this technology include smartphones,
automotive industry, aeronautics or medical applications (surgery or rehabilitation
processes).
This thesis investigates and provides solutions in two haptic areas: haptic
stability and drive-by-wire technology. On the one hand, a study of some of the
factors that affect the Z-width of the system is carried out. On the other hand,
haptic technology is applied to a real application with a promising future in the
automotive field: a drive-by-wire system.
One key aspect of haptic systems is that both, the user and the mechatronic
device share the same workspace. This fact carries with it more restrictive stability
criteria than common robotic applications in which the machine is usually isolated
in a safe space. For this reason, the study of the stability is a very important task.
In the first place, a methodology for a thorough theoretical study of any haptic
device is proposed, together with an application that was developed to make this
process easier and more intuitive. Afterwards, the influence of two of the factors
(vibration modes and time delay) that affect the size and shape of the Z-width of
the haptic system is analyzed.
Drive-by-wire technology has already been used for many decades in the
aeronautics sector, but its application to road vehicles progresses at a much
slower pace. Different attempts have been made by manufacturers to equip their
vehicles with this system but the final establishment of this technology is expected
to arrive with the electric cars. It provides multiple advantages in terms of weight,
material costs and safety measures.
The second part of this thesis focuses on a haptic device designed in
CEIT for drive-by-wire applications. This system encompasses all the driving
functionalities in a single device, which can be used with a single hand. A second
version of this driving system has been created, combining two of these devices
with a virtual coupling for a more comfortable and secure driving. Both versions
have been preliminarily tested with users, obtaining some surprising results in
terms of user adaptation time.
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